If you've ever scratched your head trying to figure out what your compressor
is doing, you're not alone.
Compression is one of the hardest parts of mixing to understand.
You know you're supposed to use it but you're not 100% you're doing it right.
And to be fair, you can use compression in a hundred different ways.
But if you don't know how to hear what it's doing you may misuse it because you simply don't know what you're doing.
Today I wanted to give you three ways compression will really move the needle on your mixes (pun very much intended).
If you haven't used compression like this before, I swear that this will instantly level up your mixes.
Mix Bus Compression
First up, mix bus compression will glue your mix together and make it sound tighter.
It will instantly give you a more "radio-ready" sound because it squeezes the instruments together and makes them sound like a whole.
Any transparent compressor will do. Just put the ratio to 2:1, the attack and release to medium, and add about 2 dBs of gain reduction overall.
This won't magically mix your song for you, but it's a solid starting point.
Group Compression
Next up, compressing your groups together.
When you compress individual groups you can be a little more selective about the compression style you want to use.
Popular choices include:
- FET for drums
- LA3A on guitars
- Opto or VCA on vocals
From there you can tweak the ratio, attack/release, and gain reduction to suit the group you're compressing to bring out the character of those instruments.
Parallel Group Compression
Finally, this is an underutilized ninja compression trick from the pros and something that is guaranteed to blow your mind.
You've probably heard about adding parallel compression to the drums, and if you've tried it you'll know how much it can help.
But if you have a dedicated parallel compression bus for the groups as well, you'll add an extra layer of thickness, power, and punch - not to mention overall loudness to your mix.
Compression Can Make or Break Your Mix
These three techniques, if used appropriately, will instantly make your mix sound better.
However, if you don't know what you're doing it can have the opposite effect.
Luckily, I have a 45-minute crash course in compression that will give you ten solid techniques for adding more punch and tightness to your mixes.
My Top 10 Compression Techniques Masterclass is available for FREE to everyone who orders the Audio Issues EQ and the Ultimate Audio Issues EQ Course before tonight.
Here are a few things you'll learn about compression when you grab this free bonus:
- How to use every button on your compressor to effectively add punch and power to your mix.
- How to use the ratio to squeeze your drums and make them thicker, punchier, and more powerful
- How to create a compression system to make every compression decision easier on every mix.
- How to use parallel compression and multi-band compression to add punch, thickness, and weight to your mixes
- The two most important knobs on your compressor and how they affect the entire sound of your tracks. Working these knobs wrong will make your instruments sound dull and lifeless
- The sneaky way to use presets to speed up your mixing (while still tweaking them for the best results)
- How to know which compressor style and emulation to use on each instrument. If you've wondered about the difference between VCA, FET, or OPTO you'll know EXACTLY how each one sounds after this video
- How to use compression to smooth out dynamics (and how you can see it visually)
- How to use the attack and release to create shape
- How to use serial compression to squeeze dynamics without squashing the signal
- How to use parallel compression for extra punch
- How to use multi-band compression to affect different frequency areas
- How to use mix-bus compression to glue your mix together from the start
So if you liked this article about compression and want to master your EQ AND compression skills, get the Audio Issues EQ with the Compression Masterclass right here:
www.AudioIssuesEQ.com
P.S.
This offer ends tonight and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee so if you're still scratching your head figuring out EQ and compression, it's a no-brainer to check it out before tonight.
